The Natural and the Spiritual Body |
1 Corinthians 15:44
44 it is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual `body'.
| Robert Smith Candlish (1806 - 1873)
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Robert Smith Candlish (23 March 1806 – 19 October 1873) was a Scottish minister, preacher, and theologian who played a leading role in the Disruption of 1843 and the founding and development of the Free Church of Scotland.Wikipedia
Early Life and Education
He was born in Edinburgh at 11 West Richmond Street, the son of James Candlish (originally McCandlish), a medical lecturer and friend of the poet Robert Burns. His father died when Robert was only about five weeks old. His mother, Jane Smith (one of the “Mauchline Belles” celebrated by Burns), raised the family in modest circumstances after moving to Glasgow, where she ran a boarding house. Candlish was educated largely at home and never attended formal school. He entered the University of Glasgow (graduating M.A. in 1823) and completed the divinity course there (1823–1826). Afterward he spent about two years as a private tutor at Eton College.Wikipedia
Ministry and the Disruption of 1843
Licensed to preach in 1828, he served briefly as assistant at St Andrew’s, Glasgow, and at Bonhill in Dunbartonshire. In 1834 he became minister of St George’s Church, Edinburgh—one of the most prominent pulpits in Scotland—where his preaching quickly gained a large and influential congregation. He married Jessie Brock in 1835; they had ten children (several of whom died young).Wikipedia
From the late 1830s he became a major figure in the Church of Scotland’s “non-intrusion” controversy. He defended the people’s right to choose (or veto) their ministers and the Church’s spiritual independence from state control. His influence in bringing about the Disruption of 1843—when roughly 450–470 ministers left the Established Church to form the Free Church of Scotland—was second only to that of Thomas Chalmers. He was a key organizer of the new denomination and suggested Hugh Miller as editor of The Witness, the Free Church’s influential newspaper.Wikisource
After the Disruption he continued as minister of St George’s Free Church (on Charlotte Square in Edinburgh’s New Town) for the rest of his life. He was convener of the Free Church education committee (1846–1863), helping shape its extensive school system (later integrated into the national system). He declined the divinity chair at New College, Edinburgh, after Chalmers’s death in 1847 in order to stay in the pastorate, but became Principal of New College in 1862 (while retaining his congregation). He served as Moderator of the Free Church General Assembly (sources note 1861 or 1867). He received the D.D. from Princeton in 1841 and from the University of Edinburgh in 1865. He was also involved in the Evangelical Alliance (founded 1845) and in later, largely unsuccessful efforts toward Presbyterian union.Wikipedia
Writings
Candlish was a prolific author of theological and expository works in the Reformed tradition. Major titles include:
Contributions towards the Exposition of the Book of Genesis (3 vols., 1842–52)
Life in a Risen Saviour (1858; discourses on
1 Corinthians 15
Chapter 15 1 Now I make known unto you brethren, the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye received, wherein also ye stand, 2 by which also ye are saved, if ye hold fast the word which I preached unto you, except ye believed in vain. 3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which also I received: that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4 and that he was buried; and that he hath been raised on the third day according to the scriptures; 5 and that he appeared to Cephas; then to the twelve; 6 then he appeared to above five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain until now, but some are fallen asleep; 7 then he appeared to James; then to all the apostles; 8 and last of all, as to the `child' untimely born, he appeared to me also. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not found vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. 11 Whether then `it be' I or they, so we preach, and so ye believed. 12 Now if Christ is preached that he hath been raised from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, neither hath Christ been raised: 14 and if Christ hath not been raised, then is our preaching vain, your faith also is vain. 15 Yea, we are found false witnesses of God; because we witnessed of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, neither hath Christ been raised: 17 and if Christ hath not been raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. 18 Then they also that are fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If we have only hoped in Christ in this life, we are of all men most pitiable. 20 But now hath Christ been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of them that are asleep. 21 For since by man `came' death, by man `came' also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; then they that are Christ's, at his coming. 24 Then `cometh' the end, when he shall deliver up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have abolished all rule and all authority and power. 25 For he must reign, till he hath put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy that shall be abolished is death. 27 For, He put all things in subjection under his feet. But when he saith, All things are put in subjection, it is evident that he is excepted who did subject all things unto him. 28 And when all things have been subjected unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subjected to him that did subject all things unto him, that God may be all in all. 29 Else what shall they do that are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why then are they baptized for them? 30 Why do we also stand in jeopardy every hour? 31 I protest by that glorifying in you, brethren, which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily. 32 If after the manner of men I fought with beasts at Ephesus, what doth it profit me? If the dead are not raised, let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die. 33 Be not deceived: Evil companionships corrupt good morals. 34 Awake to soberness righteously, and sin not; for some have no knowledge of God: I speak `this' to move you to shame. 35 But some one will say, How are the dead raised? and with what manner of body do they come? 36 Thou foolish one, that which thou thyself sowest is not quickened except it die: 37 and that which thou sowest, thou sowest not the body that shall be, but a bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other kind; 38 but God giveth it a body even as it pleased him, and to each seed a body of its own. 39 All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one `flesh' of men, and another flesh of beasts, and another flesh of birds, and another of fishes. 40 There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the `glory' of the terrestrial is another. 41 There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differeth from another star in glory. 42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: 43 it is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: 44 it is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual `body'. 45 So also it is written, The first man Adam became a living soul. The last Adam `became' a life-giving spirit. 46 Howbeit that is not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; then that which is spiritual. 47 The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is of heaven. 48 As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. 49 And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. 50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. 51 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We all shall not sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 But when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. 55 O death, where is thy victory? O death, where is thy sting? 56 The sting of death is sin; and the power of sin is the law: 57 but thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not vain in the Lord.
, including the section on “The Natural and the Spiritual Body”)
Exposition of the
First Epistle of John
The Atonement: Its Reality, Completeness and Extent (1861)
The Fatherhood of God (Cunningham Lectures, 1864)
Scripture Characters and Miscellanies (1850)
Works on the sonship of believers, and various sermons and pamphlets
He remained an active preacher and church leader until declining health in his final years.Wikisource
Death
Candlish died at his home at 52 Melville Street, Edinburgh, on 19 October 1873, after a short illness, with his mind clear and his faith steady. Because the Free Church lacked traditional parish burial rights, he was buried in the Old Calton Burial Ground in Edinburgh.Wikipedia
He is remembered as a powerful preacher, a skilled ecclesiastical organizer, and, next to Chalmers, the most influential figure in the early Free Church of Scotland.
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